Coach defends Smith against ‘unfair’ criticism as opener

As Australia's men's Test team embarks on an eight-month hiatus before their next playing commitment, coach Andrew McDonald has defended newly installed opener Steve Smith against criticism he labelled as "unfair".

Smith's return of 51 runs from four innings (average 12.75) in the two-Test Qantas Tour of New Zealand – his first overseas campaign since replacing David Warner at the top of the order – was one of the few points of concern to emerge from Australia's 2-0 victory.

The former skipper was also dismissed for 11 and 4 in his two outings as opener in the T20I series that preceded the Tests, which has led some to question whether Smith's desire to reinvigorate his already prolific career by tackling the new ball has produced an inverse result.

But McDonald claimed the four Test matches Smith has played in his new guise, in which he's averaged 28.5 with a highest score of 91no, represented "a rather small sample size" and not sufficient to make a definitive judgement on the move's success or otherwise.

He also noted that despite the next Test engagement coming in the 2024-25 summer when India return to defend the Border-Gavaskar Trophy they have retained on their past two visits to Australia, it was difficult to envisage any significant change to the current playing line-up.

"That's not to say there won't be changes, but at the moment we've won two-nil here, and had a 12 Test run where we won eight with (four) of those being away (in England and NZ)," McDonald said in Christchurch today.

"It's going to be a hard group to infiltrate, it will take something special I think.

"No doubt everyone is still asking the question around Steve Smith.

"He is a great player and his ability to problem solve is one of his great strengths.

"He's been challenged in these conditions.

"The surfaces have been new-ball wickets, and no doubt there will be a debate as to what his best position is.

"But he's up for the challenge, and I think any time that Steve Smith fails he sees it as a greater challenge.

"So walking away here with 51 runs under his belt in tough conditions, that will no doubt drive him for the next challenge and that next challenge is India.

"They await, and I think it will be an internal motivator for him.

"He wants to open, it's a position that he came to us around and we think he can make it work."

McDonald remains committed to the rationale of the national selection panel – of which he is a member – to have the country's top six batters plus keeper Alex Carey (player of the match in yesterday's thrilling win) in the starting XI.

As such, the most practical outcome was to have Smith elevated to opener thereby allowing Cameron Green to slot into his preferred batting berth at number four (Smith's former role) which also enables fellow allrounder and reigning Allan Border Medallist Mitchell Marsh to remain at six.

Other elements of the reshuffle were vindicated in NZ where Green almost single-handedly carried Australia to victory in the first Test at Wellington with an unbeaten 174, while Marsh's 80 yesterday in a 140-run partnership with Carey was pivotal in his team's successful pursuit of 279.

McDonald indicated the successful handling of Green, who missed the T20I series in NZ to prepare for the Tests by playing a Marsh Sheffield Shield game for Western Australia (in which he scored a hundred), might prompt a similar approach for Smith heading into next summer's India campaign.

While he stopped short of suggesting Smith was likely to rested from the ODI series against Pakistan that will immediately precede those India Tests in order to hone his red-ball game for New South Wales, it remains a possibility.

McDonald said it would be premature to judge Smith's effectiveness as a Test opener on just four matches, and went into bat for the 34-year-old against claims the move had failed.

"I think it's unfair, and that will probably mean I'm going into defensive mode around my player," McDonald said.

"I don't think it's deserved.

"He'll be able to work through that, it's a new challenge for him, it's a new position.

"And if you're bringing in a new opener and you gave them four Test matches, and then said 'okay; we're going to shift that after four Test matches' would you think that's fair or unfair?

"I think that's reasonably unfair."

Prior to yesterday's run chase, Australia's second successful pursuit of a fourth-innings total in excess of 275 in less than eight months (after the opening Ashes Test at Edgbaston), scrutiny was also being applied to Carey's batting returns.

The left-hander had contributed a vital 65 (off 74 balls) in the first innings of Australia's shock loss to West Indies in Brisbane in January, but since then had failed to reach 15 in four knocks and surrendered his wicket in fashion he described as "disappointing" in the past three.

However, McDonald praised the 32-year-old's unbeaten 98 at Hagley Oval yesterday that carried his team to a three-wicket win having gone to the crease early on day four with the score 5-80 in pursuit of a distant 279.

"That's a significant innings, to win that game from where he did," McDonald said.

"We know the work he puts in, and he's not only a hard worker but he's a highly skilled player.

"And 10 dismissals with the gloves (in the Test), to couple that with almost a match-winning ton which unfortunately wasn't to be.

"He would have said he didn't have the runs he would have liked (prior to yesterday), but it's a significant step for him moving forward.

"We saw at the Gabba only a couple of Test matches ago, that 60-odd in the first innings and the way he played there.

"If you look at Alex Carey at his best, there's a player that you want to keep in the side."

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